The European Commission (EC) will appoint a subcommittee to determine the strictness of a soon-to-be-launched green certification scheme for retail investment funds.

The move comes after the working group of experts appointed to develop a certification criteria failed to reach a consensus on the minimum threshold of green equity investments required for investment products to qualify under the scheme.

Certified funds will be awarded the EU Ecolabel, an existing initiative to recognise European consumer products which meet high environmental standards. This is the first time that the Ecolabel is being extended to include financial products.

Divisions were laid bare at a recent Ecolabel working group meeting, with a number of service providers a…